William e



(No Model.)

W. E. FRANK.

SPRING BED.

No. 453,556 Patented June 2, 1891.

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UNITED STATES VILLIAM E.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK, OF S". LOUIS,.MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO FOSTER BROTHERS & COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SPRING-BED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 453,556, dated June 2, 1891.

A li atio filed December 15, 1888. Serial No. 293,714. (No model.)

To [l/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM E. FRANK, of the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Beds; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in spring-beds.

The object is to provide a simple and secure arrangement of parts in a spring-bed by reducing the parts to a minimum, and at the same time furnish a strong, elastic, and durable article of furniture having the quality of equalizing and resisting weight and strain upon it, and yet furnishing a larger amount of ease and comfort without an increased outlay of time, labor, or expense.

\Vith this end in view my invention consists in certain features of constructions and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of my improved spring bed. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a detached View of zigzag connecting-wire, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of said wire.

A A represent a pair of border-wires pass ing around the entire bed and constituting the edge and frame of the bed, serving to hold the parts together and in shape and to give a certain amount of rigidity to the whole structure. These border-wires may be made in sections, the ends a of which are held together by blocking b and wedges c. The springs composing the body of the bed are in two slightly different forms-tl1e border-springs and the inclosed or inside springs.

13 13 represent the border-springs. These are for the most part nothing more nor less than the ordinary approved form of double coneshaped spiral spring with the addition of the loop 0, preferably horizontal, formed by one complete bend of the wire back around upon itself and finally on again in continuation of itself and the arm D, which latter is formed by the end of the wire after making the last spiral turn, which is completed by its return to the loop 0, passing into said loop, where it is locked to the spring, and finally bending outwardly and terminating in a hook d, adapted to clasp the upper and lower border-wires.

E E represent the inside springs. These are similar to the border-springs, except that the arms D are dispensed with and the end e is simply hooked into the loop 0. The springs are placed in alternating long and short rows, which extend lengthwise of the frame, the outside rows having the greatest number of springs possible, while the alternate rows preferably have one spring less, so that the springs in the short rows are located opposite the spaces between the springs in the long rows. The springs are connected lengthwise or in rows by chain-links or similar means f, and the end springs of the short rows, if not joined to the border-wires in the same manner as the other border-springs are, may be connected thereto by links 9 instead.

Zigzag coupling-wires H connect the rows of springs in a novel and peculiar manner, as follows: The wires are bent at their ends around the border-wires A A, and between these points their bends h project into the springs, as shown in the drawings, the upper ones beneath the upper coil and the lower one above the lower coil. These bends 72, are preferably V-shaped, and after being placed, as above described, above and below the outer coils of the springs composing the body of the bed this portion of the wire H is bent obliquely or at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the main portion and at point '5. Again the tip j is bent between the parts of the zigzag wire and into a plane at about right angles to that of the main portion of the wire, the bends in each instance being as sharp as possible in order to have the desired effect, which is to bind upon the coils of the springwhenweight is applied from one direction and to hinge when weight is applied from the opposite direction. This result is produced by the position of the curved coil of the spring within the triangular space formed by the bends in the zigzag coupling-wire, which when pressure is applied in one direction has bearing contact at four points 1, 2, 3, and at out of alignment with each other and on opposite sides of the coil.

and when pressure is applied in the opposite direction has bearing-contact practically at two points 2 and 3 only, which of course are in alignment, and hence hinge, but do not produce, a fulcrum. Now in the practical working of the bed-bottom the top is always yielding and the bottom is rigid, or practically so, distributing and equalizing the Weight. WVhen the bottom is reversed or inverted, it acts the same as before, because of the peculiar connection of the coupling-wire with the springs, as previously described.

The border may be double or single, and it is evident that other slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from the spirit'and scope of my invention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction'herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A reversible bed-bottom consisting, essen tially, of rows of spiral springs and tic wires connected with the springs in such a manner that the upper surface is always yielding and the lower one is always rigid to a pressure coming from the direction of the yielding surface, substantially as set forth.

2. A reversible bed-bottom consisting of rows of spiral springs arranged so that the springs in adjacent rows alternate with one another, and zigzag tie-wires having their bends hooked around the end coils of the springs in such a manner that the upper side of the bed-bottom is always yieldingand the under side is always rigid ..to a downward pressure or a pressurecoming from the direction of the yielding surface, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM E. FRANK.

Vvitnesses:

JAMES W. ALLEN, N. H. FosrnR. 

